City of Splendors

Episode Recap: Season II, Episode III

New Frontiers

29

JUN/17

W ith a new task at hand, the party set out to discover the whereabouts of the missing emissary, Machalat Burakazi and her travelling companions. Suspecting that their contact Ellithral the Golden might have information to share, they first went to the Yawning Portal Inn to speak with him. Over a round of ale, notes were traded and information was shared, and the party revealed to Ellithral the information they had received regarding a suspected Orcish role in Burakazi’s disappearance. In exchange, Ellithral offered vital details he had learned regarding the timeframe of the emissary’s disappearance and the opulent, high-profile lifestyle she led as a guest in Waterdeep. Pressing him for further information on his sources, the party convinced Ellithral to meet with them again to learn more about his employers and their line of work.

After packing for the journey ahead, the adventurers set out on the Trade Way, venturing south toward the abandoned camp. After a few hours’ travel, they came across a crossroads village that appeared to have been attacked. While investigating the chaos for signs of the culprits, the group was ambushed by a trio of Orcish barbarians. While they were too late to rescue the innocent villager that the Orcs had just slaughtered, the party served due justice to the villains. In the wreckage, they managed to find a broken shield, bearing some sort of tribal emblem painted in crimson red.

Further down the road, signs of chaos and destruction only increased. Normally a busy highway for commerce along the Sword Coast, the Trade Way was all but abandoned, with signs of sacked caravans littered along the ditches. The party spotted a path leading off the road that seemed to point to the origin of these attacks, and Havard scouted ahead. Entering an empty clearing, he was suddenly attacked by a pack of hungry Owlbears, and narrowly escaped with his life. Realizing this to be a diversion set by whoever was responsible for the destruction, the party continued onward.

Crossing into territory that was boldly marked as Red Fang lands, the adventurers made their way through a narrow, hilly pass. Once more, they were attacked by a group of border guards and their guard hounds, and a fierce battle ensued. With their combined combat experience, these border guards were no match for the quartet. But there was no doubt now that the party had stumbled onto hostile ground, and their adversaries would fight to the death to defend it, and whatever secrets it may hold…